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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. fine — high quality
  3. net — after costs
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. mate — a partner
  6. shower — rain
  7. ground — crushed
  8. root — of a plant
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. root — of a word
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mate — to breed
  14. ground — a position
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. bass — the fish
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bass — low music
  21. mate — a friend
  22. root — the cause
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ball — a great time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com